Emerson Moore, 57N.Y.'s first black bishopBishop Emerson...

DEATHS ELSEWHERE

Bishop Emerson J. Moore, 57, an auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York who was an outspoken advocate of racial equality, died Thursday in New York of unknown causes.

He was the first black bishop of the New York archdiocese and a founder and chairman of the archdiocesan Office for Black Ministry.

In 1985, at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Harlem, where he remained pastor even after he assumed his diocesan duties, he spoke at a meeting of black American bishops -- called by Cardinal John O'Connor to discuss the role of blacks in the church hierarchy -- and said: "Racism is sin that must always be on the agenda of the church. Things will get better, but it will take time."

Michio Watanabe, 72, one of the most influential politicians in Japan, died of heart failure Friday in a Tokyo hospital, having failed to achieve his dream of becoming prime minister. He was a leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, which was toppled in 1993. He was deputy prime minister and foreign minister from November 1991 to April 1993.